Since its publication in 2007, the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) has been widely used at universities and teacher education institutions throughout Europe. The follow-up publication, Using the EPOSTL (2011), documented ways in which the EPOSTL is implemented in initial teacher education, teaching practice and in-service teacher development. In the meantime, interest in the EPOSTL is growing beyond the borders of Europe. It has been translated into 14 languages, including Arabic; two recently-developed Japanese versions are to play a significant role in teacher education and development in Japan.
The European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) will therefore organise a two-day conference, which will bring together practitioners and users of the EPOSTL to exchange information on its use and discuss challenges and solutions and to explore how the EPOSTL can contribute to raising the quality of language teaching. This conference will take place at the premises of the ECML in Graz Austria on 18-19 February, 2014. The conference will be a single event, with registration directly to the ECML.
Conference language: English.
Participant profile: Language teacher educators, school mentors, representatives of school authorities and ministries, student teachers and teachers of languages.
Topics of conference:
- Exchange of information about using the EPOSTL (pre-service, teaching practice, in-service teacher development)
- Presentation of EPOSTL-related publications
- Research on EPOSTL (articles, dissertations etc.)
- Feedback on the EPOSTL from students
- Innovative uses of the EPOSTL
- >Extending the scope of the EPOSTL
- Presentation of the results of the ACTFL/ECML project ‘ACTOSTL’ (website of the ACTFL/ECML project)
Call for papers:
A limited number of presentations by conference participants will be held. Participants who wish to hold a presentation should note the following:
- Topics should relate to innovative uses of EPOSTL, research into EPOSTL etc.
- Duration: 20 minutes plus 10 minutes discussion time
- Send your submission/abstract to epostl2 ecml.at
- It should not contain more than 300 words. Please include your name, institution, email address and brief biographical details.
- Deadline: 30 November 2013
Full details on the conference, the call for submissions and how to register can be found here: